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The beams are painted white, but
because of the treatment, the grain
is revealed.
Howell carefully selected her
pickled oak hardwood floors. She had
seen a sample she loved in Florida, but
the timing didn’t work, so she carried
the sample to a local shop that is no longer
in business. The shop was able to produce
the floor boards in house. Through
the process of racking — dry laying the
boards in a desired pattern — she was
able to achieve the look she wanted.
“When they were through, it looked
like a million bucks,” she says.
The limestone mantel and surround
was shipped in three pieces. Howell
vetted several masons to find one that
was able to assemble it. Large glass
doors flank the fireplace, allowing
light to pour inside.
The secretary in the living room is
an antique inherited from Howell’s
mother. It showcases Howell’s collection
of blue and white porcelain
and china. The house was actually
designed with her mother in mind, as
Howell planned for her to live there.
But she passed away at age 92, just
before the house was completed.
another key element of her décor. op
Her extensive art collection was
another key element of her décor.
“For me, the artwork came first
— all the time,” Howell says. The
dining room showcases a Claude
Howell landscape — an unusual
style for a beloved local painter.
As a friend of the late Howell, she
jokingly referred to him as “cousin.”
Living in Toronto in the 1970s and
1980s, she acquired many pieces of
art, most notably a Pierre Bonnard
sketch, which became a study for the
c. 1935 Bather series.